Railway-signal



2 Sheets-Sheet,- 2.

J. W.- PURSLOW.

RAILWAY SIGNAL (No Model.)

Patented Nov. 14, 1882.

UNTTT STATES PATENT TTTcn.

JOHN WV. PURSLOVV, OF DURANGO, COLORADO.

RAILWAY-SIGNAL.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 267,369, dated November14, 1882.

Application filed May 15,1882, (No model.)

To all whom it may concern Be it known that 1, JOHN W. PURsLoW, acitizen of the United States of America, residing at Durango, in thecounty of La Plata and State of Colorado, have invented certain new anduseful Improvements in Railway-Signals, of which the following is aspecification.

My invention relates to improvements in railway-signals.

The object of my invention is to provide an alarm-signal for use at thecrossing of a wagonroad and railroad, so constructed and arranged thatan alarm is automatically sounded at the crossing by an approachingtrain from either direction, warning passing teams of the dangertherefrom. l attain this object by the mechanism shown in theaccompanying drawings, in which Figure 1 is a plan of my improvedalarmsignal. Fig. 2 is a side elevation of the same. Fig. 3 is asectional elevation taken on the line 00 a; in Fig. 1. Fig. 4 is asectional elevation taken on the line 3 you Fig. 1.

Similar letters refer to similar parts throughout the several views.

In the said drawings, A A represents the main frame of the machine,which is to be located at the road-crossin g and inclosed withinahouseorbox. Slidinglongitudinallythrough the main frame A A, insuitable bearings in the ends thereof, is a sliding bar, B, provided onits under side with a rack, a, engaging with a pinion, b, secured to ashaft, 8, journaled at each end in suitable bearings, e e, in the mainframe A A.

Secured on the shafts, near the middle of its length, is aratchet-wheel, R, with which engages a pawl, p, on a gear-wheel, G,which turns loosely on the shaft 8 and meshes with a gear-wheel, G, on ashaft, 8, also journaled at each end in suitable hearings on the mainframe A A, and provided with a star-wheel, O, the arms 0 of which strikeone end of the vibrating lever E, the other end of which carries thestrikerf, which strikes the gong F, secured to the lower part of themain frame A A.

The sliding bar B is connected at each end to leversD and D, pivotedrespectively to the brackets g and g on the main frame A A, in such amanner that when their lower ends are drawn outward the sliding bar B isforced back, compressing a coiled spring, a, coiled thereon. The lowerends of the levers D and D are connected by means of a cable, m, or itsequivalent, to the oscillating levers L and L. These oscillating leversL and L are to be placed along the railway-track four or five hundredyards each way from the main frame A A, with the cable in runningunderground or strung on posts or poles above ground.

The levers L L may beinclosed by suitable boxing to protect them fromthe weather, the ends I being left projecting sufficiently to be struckby a bracket or projection placed on 'the locomotive for this purpose.

The operation is as follows A train approaching in either directionstrikes the end I of levers L or L, and through the agency of the cablesat and levers D or D forces back the sliding bar B and compresses thespring a, the shaft 8, by reason of the ratchet-wheel R and pawl p,turning loosely in the gear G. The projection on thelocomotivehavingpassed the lever L, the recoil of the springn forces back thesliding bar to its original position and sets the lever L L for the nexttrain. The rack a, engaging with the pinion b,revolves the shafts andratchet-wheel B, which, by reason of the pawl 19, rotates the gear G,and through the agency of gear G, star-wheel c, and the vibrating leverE sounds an alarm on the gong F. The gong is only sounded by a trainapproaching the crossing. Atrain going in the opposite direction,striking the levers L L, merely tilts them back without any action onthe machine, after which they are again brought into position by aspring, 0.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new, and desire tosecure by Letters Patent, is-

1. In a railway-signal, a sliding bar, B, having rack a and aspring,n,in combination with shaft .5, having pinion b, ratchet-wheel R,and gear G, with pawl 19, substantially as shown and described.

2. In a railway-signal, the sliding bar B and spring a, in combinationwith the levers D D and L L and means of connecting the same,substantially as described and shown.

3. The combination of the sliding bar B, having rack a and spring a,shaft 8, pinion b, ratchet-wheel B, pawl 1), gears G G, star-wheel 0,vibrating lever E, and gong F, substantially as shown and described.

IOC

4. The combination of the levers L L and l In testimony whereof I afiixmy signature in presence of two witnesses.

JOHN W. PURSLO\V.

Witnesses:

JOHN P. WYNN, R. H. MCFADDEN.

